The Top Choice for Semaglutide in Charleston, SC

Pittsburgh had to go on a run just to get in. Now they face the USL Championship's most potent goalscorer

Oct 30, 2024

11:17 AM

There is no doubt Riverhounds SC is riding high into the USL Championship playoffs.

It would hard for the team not to be enthusiastic. The Riverhounds are peaking at the right time and may be the hottest team in the league with a 9-1-6 record in their final 16 matches, including a four-game winning streak where they won every game by shutout.

It was a great finish to the regular season to be sure. But it was also necessary to get to this point for a team that had a dismal first 18 matches with a 3-9-6 record that had them mired in 11th place in the 12-team Eastern Conference for much of the year.

Now, the Riverhounds, who have ostensibly been in playoff mode for the last three months now, have to find another level with the actual postseason at hand.

“We’ve been in the playoffs for a long time, and it’s just a continuation of that,” Riverhounds midfielder Jackson Walti said. “I don’t think any of the guys are really taking it too differently because we’ve already had a lot of pressure for a really long time.”

It will certainly be an intriguing matchup when the No. 7 seed Riverhounds (12-10-12) make their way south to Patriots Point for their meeting at 6:30 p.m. Saturday against Eastern Conference runner-up Charleston Battery (18-6-10).

On one hand, the Battery have the Golden Boot winner in Nick Markanich, who set a league record with 28 goals this season. On the other, Riverhounds goalkeeper Eric Dick won the Golden Glove with a league-best 0.69 goals-against average and set a team record with 14 shutouts.

“Honestly, I didn’t even realize that. That really is a cool thing,” Riverhounds defender Sean Suber said. “I guess it’s let the best man win and whoever brings it on the day. [Markanich] has had an amazing season, and so has Eric, as well, so we just have to be ready defensively and go out there and ball.”

On the surface, it may appear the Riverhounds have an advantage after winning the season series against Charleston win a scoreless road draw on June 8 and a 2-0 home win as part of the stretch run on Oct. 12. But the second time the two teams played comes with a caveat, as Charleston was locked into second place in the Eastern Conference and because the match was ostensibly meaningless to them, the Battery rested several of their best players, including Markanich and top setup man Juan David Torres.

That was not lost on the Riverhounds in the aftermath of their victory that gave them a much needed three points in their quest to qualify for the postseason.

“Hopefully, next time, if we get that lead, we can keep playing more aggressively,” Riverhounds coach Bob Lilley said afterward. “They didn’t play Markanich. They didn’t play Torres. They already played plenty of big minutes.”

Markanich may be the big threat, but he’s far from the only Charleston player who can put the ball in the back of the net. The Battery finished second in the league in goals scored with 68, as, in addition to Markanich, MD Myers scored 14 and Torres is third on the team with seven to go along with his six assists.

To put that into perspective, the Riverhounds’ leading goalscorer, Edward Kizza, who enters the postseason on a team record-tying five-game goalscoring streak, only has 12 goals. The Riverhounds’ second-leading goalscorer, Bertin Jacquesson, has five in only seven matches since his September loan acquisition from Real Salt Lake.

As powerful as the Charleston lineup is, it hasn’t dented the Riverhounds defense. Dick also posted the clean sheet on June 8 the first time the teams met, when the Battery had its full complement of attackers.

It’s not surprising. Dick may be the last line of defense, but the entire team has been outstanding covering its own end throughout the season. The Riverhounds posted a league-best 16 shutouts, and their 28 goals allowed were the fewest in the USL Championship.

And it’s not like no one else has been able to keep the Battery at bay. The team was shut out eight times this season, including the two by the Riverhounds.

“I think we’re in really good form right now and we’re playing well as a team defensively, so I don’t think there’s too much pressure going into the game,” Suber said. “We know how many goals Charleston is scoring, and they’re an attacking threat, but I think we match up well against them and we’re just ready to get after it.”

Keith Barnes: kbarnes.pg@gmail.com and @kbarnes_pghsprt on X

First Published: October 30, 2024, 11:17 a.m.

CHARLESTON COUNTY, S.C. (WCSC) - Charleston County council members met Tuesday night and approved to be a part of the Tax Increment Financing District, or TIF, for the redevelopment of Union Pier.

Charleston mayor William Cogswell presented the redevelopment plan for Union Pier last month and county officials said they had until Nov. 4th to vote on if they wanted to be a part of it or not.

A TIF is a public financing tool designed to stimulate private investment in a blighted area.

Using a TIF system will allow the city to divert the property tax revenue generated by private redevelopment projects into a fund to pay for public infrastructure projects. This includes stormwater drainage, public spaces like parks, water access, as well as affordable housing at Union Pier.

Essentially, it will increase the assessed value of the property in the project area, which will lead to higher tax revenue.

Currently, Union Pier does not bring in any tax revenue. Cogswell said that this private investment could be worth about $2 billion, with it anticipated to generate $47 million in tax revenue annually in 30 years.

However, Charleston County School District, Charleston County and the City of Charleston would not see that tax revenue from the project until the 30-year financing period is over.

CCSD was approved to be a part of the Union Pier TIF on Monday night. Part of the school district’s deal with the city was that they had to surrender their office space located at 75 Calhoun St., leaving that additional 30,000 square feet to CCSD.

Charleston County also made an intergovernmental agreement with the city to get their approval for this TIF. With that agreement, the city would be giving up ownership of 294 parking spaces located in the Cumberland Street Garage. The money that comes from people who pay to park there would then be going back to the county. The city will still have the option to use those spaces however they’d have to pay the county 30.6% of the operating costs.

Charleston County Council member, Brantley Moody, said he is looking forward to seeing the redevelopment of Union Pier. One concern he had previously mentioned was making sure that the county had its expenses covered for the next 30 years.

“So the area as it grows, we are going to see apartments come there, hotels, restaurants and things like that, that the county has to provide services for whether its EMS, 911, and things like that, so my big concern was making sure we had a revenue source to cover those costs and I’m confident that we do,” Moody said.

Another Charleston County Council member, Jenny Honeycutt, also said that she was excited to see what would come out of this project.

“The county is really looking forward to what the city can do with this incredible resource we have. We are very glad that we have a local partner willing to redevelop this area and the county is happy to be partnering in that,” Honeycutt said.

The IGAs for both the school district and the county will go to the City of Charleston on Nov. 4 for a second and final reading.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The Charleston County School District has now approved and adopted a new rule to regulate which books are allowed in public schools.

The approval came from Monday night’s Board of Trustees meeting but was discussed more in-depth Tuesday at a news conference with district leaders.

Tuesday’s event was held at Edith L. Frierson Elementary School on Wadmalaw Island because the school jumped from an unsatisfactory rating to excellent on the state report card in just one year, with the district wanting to highlight that achievement.

The news conferences are a new initiative for the district to hold after each Board of Trustees meeting to help offer more transparency and access to Charleston County schools.

Superintendent Anita Huggins focused on major topics from the night before including the approval of the Union Pier TIF, instructional materials and the cellphone ban.

Specifically focusing on the book ban vote from Monday night, the South Carolina Department of Education implemented a new law this summer which left the CCSD with really no choice in approving the policy.

“Since the summer and since we’ve had more knowledge about this regulation, we have been working to ensure that they (principals) know the support that we want to offer them and to their teachers,” Huggins said.

The state law completely bans material for any age group if it includes visual depictions or descriptions of sexual conduct. It also outlines a process for someone to challenge them all the way up to the State Board of Education.

Board members were presented with multiple, very detailed policies that are aligned with state regulations and unanimously approved each specific policy.

One of the major changes in the regulation now requires teachers to catalog books which puts a challenge on educators to select and retain materials.

“Our principals, they have welcomed the opportunity to really ensure that the content of the curriculum that we’re choosing, the materials are rigorous and they’re appropriate for the age with which the students that they’re serving,” Deputy Superintendent Dr. Luke Clamp said. “So they’ve not necessarily been concerned, but really it’s an opportunity.”

When asked about feedback from parents, Huggins said there are two very different views from parents…

“We hear from parents who want students to have access and opportunity related to books of all content, and then we have parents who want a voice in what their students read and have access to in our library media centers across the district,” Huggins said.

The regulation allows the State Board of Education to have the final say in local disputes over what materials are appropriate, ranging from school library books to even those read by an afterschool student book club.

The State Board of Education will be holding its first book review hearing on Thursday to decide if famous books such as “Romeo and Juliet” and “To Kill a Mockingbird” will still be on the shelves of public schools in the state.

“This week’s first committee review at the State level has sparked some interesting dialog and debate,” Huggins said. “There are various titles on the list to be considered among the committee, and so we await the decision and the recommendation of that committee to the state board and the next steps.”

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Updated: Oct. 29, 2024 at 1:19 AM PDT

CHARLESTON, S.C. (WCSC) - The Charleston County School District met on Monday to discuss several major updates.

Some of them include the new cell phone policy, class material regulations, as well as the Union Pier as a Tax Increment Financing district.

At the Monday meeting, there was a request for approval of the agreement between CCSD, South Carolina and the City of Charleston in relation to the Union Pier TIF.

There was a request for approval among all governments to move forward in the next steps.

Though it wasn’t unanimous, the board did vote for this change coming to Union Pier in downtown Charleston, and many community members advised against it.

“This is not fiscal conservative at all, this is irresponsible leadership,” community member Anthony G. Bryant said.

This TIF helps fund new development by using the extra property tax money from rising property values in the area. Rather than using taxpayer dollars, it will be from tax revenue collected by the government from all taxes, and one gentleman said he’s concerned about that.

“Now some of us can afford increase in property values, we take it for granted no big deal. But there are a lot of people—white and black—on a fixed income that cannot take another penny in the increase of their property tax,” community member Maurice Washington said.

Following the public comment, the board voted for the request for approval to reach an agreement or negotiation between the school board and the district chief’s financial officer.

Part of the deal they made is that CCSD will now receive all office space at 75 Calhoun St.

Board member Pamela McKinney said she thinks this agreement will benefit every school in the district through new park space, flood mitigation, as well as affordable housing.

“That favorable vote helps our district operate more efficiently, giving us more time and more resources to educate our students,” McKinney said.

However, board member, Courtney Waters had questions as to how this impact would be worth it.

Union Pier currently generates no tax revenue but could eventually generate $22 million for the district based on estimates by the city. The catch is the district would not see the money for 30 years which is the end of the financing period.

“But given that there’s not a direct educational benefit, and we’re not actually in the business of process development, I’m just trying to figure out why would take this is as something we should be doing as a school district,” Waters said.

The district chief’s financial officer advised the board to not go through with this approval if they were not receiving that office space because of the risk but believes it’s worth the short-term and long-term reward.

The next step for this Union Pier project will be a second reading in front of the City of Charleston.

As for the class material regulations, there will be the second and final reading for the class material regulations.

The board approved the first reading with the majority of policies and now they will vote on some that are more specific. If they are approved, the revisions will soon be put into place.

It will also be the first reading for the cell phone policy, which is looking for approval.

At Monday night’s meeting, the Charleston County School Board approved new policies on instruction material in classrooms. A new law was put in place this past summer for all South Carolina schools to require learning materials to be age and developmentally-appropriate. The regulation allows the State Board of Education to have the final say in local disputes over what materials are appropriate-- whether in a classroom setting or an after-school club.

Copyright 2024 WCSC. All rights reserved.

The most important local election that Charleston County voters will decide this year is whether to extend a half-percent transportation sales tax — more commonly but less accurately called a "half-cent" sales tax — that is expected to generate more than $5 billion during the next 25 years. We urge voters to vote "no" for many reasons having little to do with the tax itself and everything to do with what County Council would — and would not — spend it on.

County Council decided to designate only one priority project to be funded by the Charleston County Special Sales and Use Tax question: the controversial extension of Interstate 526 across Johns and James islands; it will be completely up to the county which if any of the other projects on its lengthy list of other projects to fund. The 526 project would take up about half of the total revenue given its $2.3 billion price tag and the additional $648 million in borrowing costs that would be enabled by the second question, which voters also should reject.

The project is controversial not only because of the wetlands and communities it would claim along its 9-mile route but also because its construction would further fuel development on Johns Island, an island many want to see retain at least some of its rural character. New development will occur there regardless of whether the highway is built, but this project would speed it up. As we've noted, Hilton Head Island has a larger population than Johns, Wadmalaw, Kiawah and Seabrook islands combined, but its new bridge will have three lanes in each direction. Even without 526, Johns Island soon will have four lanes both ways.

Also, the $2.3 billion cost is likely to rise, perhaps dramatically, given the inflation seen with other road projects. Since it's the only priority project, that would jeopardize other far more popular and needed road projects elsewhere in the county, such as rebuilding and elevating the oft-flooded ramp leading from the U.S. Highway 17 bridge to S.C. Highway 61 in West Ashley. County Council should have broken I-526 into a separate question but did not, knowing that it likely would fail. A lawsuit to force the question to be rewritten was set aside by a judge, whose ruling noted opponents could raise that issue legally if voters approved the referendum proposals.

Make no mistake, the county has never tackled a road project this large, and it's unclear how successfully it can, even with the S.C. Department of Transportation's help. The county has struggled to complete much smaller projects from its 2016 sales tax referendum, including building a flyover at Main Road and Highway 17, where traffic can back up for more than a mile. County officials blame bonding rules, permitting and the general complexity for the delays, but it's hard to ignore that completing the project would have addressed the biggest traffic jam for those heading to the island, likely lessening support for the Mark Clark extension.

Beyond the Mark Clark extension, voters should reject these questions because of the relative lack of money for needed park and land conservation work. While the county set aside $432 million for these greenbelt projects, that's only 8% of the total pie, far less than the 17% allocated to greenbelts in the 2004 tax and down from the 10% greenbelt share in the 2016 sales tax extension.

If this sales tax proposal fails this year, some County Council members vow to put the question before voters again in 2026. After all, the original half-percent sales tax is in effect until 2027, and a third one would not take effect until then, at the earliest. Voters should vote "no" this time and send an unmistakable message that bringing the same proposal back again two years from now would be nothing more than a big waste of everyone's time.

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